and Family Planning Commission's Human Organ and Transplant
Committee, Dr. Huang Jiefu, claimed that China would stop
sourcing organs from executed prisoners on January 1, 2015, yet
no official agency of the People's Republic of China has made
this declaration nor has Huang's claim been verified by
independent researchers; and
WHEREAS, Chinese officials have reclassified death row
prisoners as "ordinary citizens" with the right to donate their
organs, although the use of prisoner organs for transplant is
specifically banned by international medical organizations; and
WHEREAS, In May 2016, Huang Jiefu announced via state-run
media that China will increase the number of transplant centers
from 169 to 300 over the next five years; and
WHEREAS, Large discrepancies exist between the People's
Republic of China's officially reported transplant numbers and
those estimated by independent researchers; and
WHEREAS, Updated evidence estimates between 30,000 to 100,000
transplants occur annually in China without identified organ
sources; and
WHEREAS, Updated evidence suggests up to 1.5 million Falun
Gong practitioners may have been killed for their organs since
2001; and
WHEREAS, Recipients for these transplants are Chinese
citizens or individuals from abroad, including from the United
States; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom's annual report again listed
China as a "country of particular concern," due to severe
violations of human rights and illegal organ harvesting
practices stating, "Imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners are
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